


Let Me Help You

by echojulien



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 15:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21478681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echojulien/pseuds/echojulien
Summary: After his time as Mr. E, it hasn't been easy for Echo to get close to anyone besides Zane. Lloyd is hoping to change that.This was inspired by a bit of a AU by rinas-ninjas on Tumblr.
Relationships: Lloyd & Echo, Lloyd & Echo Zane, Lloyd Garmadon & Echo Julien, Lloyd Garmadon & Echo Zane
Kudos: 26





	Let Me Help You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Before the story starts, I want you all to know that this isn't a copy. Well, it technically is, but I am the original creator of the story. It was previously posted to another account, but I deleted that account and created a new one for personal reasons. All my previous Ninjago fics will be reposted to this account.

“Let me help you.”

“No.”

“Come on. It’ll be faster, and you won’t possibly damage yourself further.”

“Green Ninja, I was on my own for  _ years _ . Did all my own repairs, and my body was in  _ much _ worse shape than this. And even as Mr. E I did my own repairs--not that I needed them as much. I think I can handle a bit of knee damage.”

Lloyd sighed. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with that. But, it’d be a shame if Zane found out about it and rushed home. Especially since he was looking forward to his trip to the city today.”

Echo’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but the Green Ninja was right. Zane was pretty protective, and would come home as soon as he thought something bad happened. 

Normally Echo wouldn’t see that as an issue, but Zane had been looking forward to his trip, and--despite becoming stressed if he was away from Zane for too long--Echo didn’t want to get in the way today.

There was only one thing he could do.

“Fine. You can help me get to the workshop, but  _ that’s it _ . I’ve never seen you do a single thing with robotics, and I don’t need someone without robotics knowledge poking around my insides, even if it is just my knee.”

Lloyd grinned. “Deal.”

*******

A short time later, and the boys were in the workroom. Echo frowned at the mess. “How does the Blue Ninja find  _ anything _ in here? And why does the Gray Ninja let this happen? She works in here too, and I know she’s more organized.”

Lloyd shrugged as best as he could with Echo’s arm over his shoulder. “Beats me. I don’t deal with robotics and whatnot as you pointed out earlier.”

“Fair point.”

“So, what now?”

“Now? Now you leave and let me do what I need to do.”

Lloyd’s eyebrows furrowed. “You can’t be serious. I won't just leave you to hobble around while you try to find the right tools.”

Echo studied the Green Ninja’s face, trying to find any signs of deceit. However, all he managed to find was sincerity. “If it’ll get you to leave me alone, fine. Help me onto the worktable, and I’ll scan my knee then show you what tools I need via hologram.”

*******

The workshop was quiet as Echo worked...mostly. Lloyd had decided to hang around just in case, and broke the silence every now and again with a question or statement.

Secretly, part of Echo appreciated what the Green Ninja was doing. It was hard for him to spend time with any Ninja other than Zane, and it was sorta nice to see that one of them was willing to make an effort--even if it was only a little bit. Outwardly though, Echo wasn’t ready to show or voice his appreciation.

A few minutes later, and Echo set down his tools. He turned and swung his legs over the side of the worktable, then bent his right leg a couple of times to see if things were working properly.

Seeing Echo doing his little tests, Lloyd stood from his seat. “So everything’s fixed?”

“Good as new.”

“Glad to hear it. And now that I know you’re fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

As Lloyd stood from his seat and began to walk away, Echo called after him. “Wait!”

Lloyd stopped and turned around. Echo looked at him for a moment, but then looked down. "Why...why did you help me?"

“It seemed like you needed help.”

“There’s got to be more to it than that--I denied your help multiple times.”

“It can be hard to ask for or accept help, especially from people you don’t know very well. But I don’t blame you. The rest of us--me in particular--haven’t done a very good job of trying to get to know you.”

Echo lifted his head and cocked it to the side. “You in particular?”

“Yeah. I’ve been in a position similar to yours.”

“ _ You _ ? The legendary Green Ninja?”

Lloyd walked back to his previous seat and sat down. “I wasn’t always the ‘legendary’ Green Ninja. When I was young, my mom left me at a place called Darkley's, which was a boarding school for 'bad boys'. I grew up wanting to be just like my dad, Lord Garmadon. As it were, I ended up getting kicked out for not being bad enough. Can you believe it? The  _ son _ of  _ Lord Garmadon _ not being  _ bad _ enough."

"I'm more surprised that they kicked out a child."

"Yeah. Most schools wouldn't kick a child out and leave them on their own, but Darkley's wasn't most schools. Anyway, I ended up learning about the Serpentine tribes and their tombs, so I set out to release them. The first one I found was the Hypnobrai tomb, and things went alright for a bit, but then Skales became leader and turned the tribe against me. After that, I found the Anacondrai tomb, and met its only occupant: Pythor."

“Only occupant? Does that mean--”

“He ate the others yes. I overlooked it when I was younger because he acted like my friend. He also betrayed me, and then I ended up with the Ninja--who then only consisted of Zane, Jay, Kai, and Cole. Things were a bit rough at first as you can imagine--who would want to befriend someone that had been working against them?”

Echo looked down again.

Lloyd placed a hand comfortingly on Echo’s knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s more to highlight why things were rough...also probably the fact that I pulled pranks on the Ninja.”

For the first time, Echo smiled around someone other than Zane. “Zane told me about the Pink Ninja incident. I have to admit, it’s pretty amusing, mainly because of Zane’s reaction.”

Lloyd chuckled. “Yeah. It was pretty funny.” He realized his hand was still on Echo’s knee and removed it. “But yeah. If you ever want to talk to someone who knows a bit about what you’re going through, you can talk to me.”

Echo was still for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you...Lloyd.”


End file.
